Outbound Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Petting and Feeding Rabbits

Quick Answer: To pet a rabbit in Outbound, you first need to earn its trust by feeding it a Roadberry. While befriending a bunny makes it temporarily follow you around like a cute sidekick, it offers zero mechanical benefits compared to adopting a permanent dog companion later on.

Exploring the vibrant, open world of Outbound from the comfort of your customizable camper van is a fantastic experience. Sometimes, though, rolling solo across massive landscapes can feel a little lonely. Thankfully, the developers scattered some adorable wildlife throughout the biomes to keep you company.

You will inevitably stumble across wild rabbits during your travels. Naturally, your first instinct is probably to run up and pet them. However, the game requires you to put in a tiny bit of work before you get to interact with the local fauna.

How to Befriend the Local Wildlife

You cannot just sprint up to a wild animal and expect it to let you touch it. You need to bring a bribe. Before you approach a bunny, you absolutely must have Roadberries in your inventory.

While you are out chopping trees and running your lumber through your Sawmill to craft Everwood Planks, you will likely spot a few of these critters hopping around the underbrush. Keep an eye out for blue bushes nearby to snag the berries you need.

Step by Step Taming Process

1. Gather at least one Roadberry from the wild.
2. Slowly approach the rabbit until the game gives you a prompt to interact.
3. Press your interact button to hand over the berry.
4. Wait for the eating animation to finish and look for a heart icon to pop up above the animal’s head.
5. Approach the rabbit a second time and press interact again to finally pet it!

Once you establish that initial bond, you can hang around and continue to pet or feed the rabbit as many times as your heart desires.

Does Taming Rabbits Actually Do Anything?

If you are hoping that your new woodland friend will help you forage for rare materials or defend your camp, you are going to be disappointed.

The feeding and petting mechanics are deeply linked, but the final payoff is purely cosmetic. Handing over a berry unlocks the petting interaction. Giving the rabbit some pets makes it like you enough to follow you around for a short period. That is literally it. It is just a fun, wholesome feature to make the world feel a bit more alive.

Rabbits vs. Dogs: Choosing Your Companion

If you want an animal sidekick that actually impacts your gameplay, you need to look into adopting a dog. The camper van lifestyle practically demands a loyal canine riding shotgun, and the developers fully delivered on that front.

Here is a quick breakdown of how rabbits compare to actual adopted pets in the game:

Save your Roadberries for your own hunger gauge. Petting the bunnies is a great distraction, but securing a permanent dog companion should be your ultimate goal for maximizing your adventure.

If you want to master every aspect of your campervan adventure, be sure to check out all of our other guides at Novus Vektra.